It had been a long walk for the three, despite the gates of the city being in view from their starting spot by the river. Lydia found it impossible to focus on her excitement for the day ahead, with the two behind her bickering. Stiles would steal from Scott. Scott would shove him response and they'd get into a ridiculous play fight. That was until Lydia sent them a glare, which in turn made the boys giggle like children.
"Can you two please behave like adults? It's my birthday and I don't want to be stabbed by two childish men on my birthday." She made a point to glare at Scott's side where she expected to see his sword holstered. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she saw the glint from Stiles' direction, sighing as he sent her a grin. It was official, she was being escorted by idiots, and with one wrong move, this birthday could be her last.
By the time they reached the gates, Stiles had handed the sword back, taking a few strides forward to be next to Lydia. He watched her face, astonished as he saw the variety of emotion crossing her features. Amazement, nerves but most of all, excitement. Not that her happiness bought him any semblance of joy, no, he just had an obligation to make this the best birthday ever. For the crown and freedom, obviously. It was the look of amazement on the rogues face that gave his true feelings away to the trained guard. Scott took a few steps back, leaving them to their moment.
"This is it, your big birthday wish. You know you can take it all back, I mean this hasn't exactly been fun for us right?" He kept his eyes on her as she scanned the gate, bottom lip caught between her teeth as her hands trembled. This was it, soon their deal would be over, he would have his riches and be on his way and she would achieve her dream. So why couldn't he find comfort in the thought of parting ways?
Before he could truly contemplate his inner turmoil, she'd reached for his hand, dragging him inside the city to the loud and colourful festivities. Groups of children stared, envious of her long beautiful hair as they braided each others. Seeing Lydia was struggling to heave it all around, an idea struck Stiles and he made his way to the fountain where they sat. "Excuse me fine young ladies, you look like the type up for a challenge. My friend here needs an easier way to maintain this ridiculous amount of hair, and I think you can help?"
The three girls looked to each other before squealing, jumping up as Lydia let her hair out into a line behind her. They giggled while they braided, skipping over her long locks. Lydia looked around the town as the girls worked, noticing the mural across from her. It portrayed the king and queen smiling with a small baby. The people in the mural were beautiful, the baby's smile bright like her mothers, eyes emerald like her fathers. It was stunning to look at and by the time she pulled her eyes away, the braid was finished.
She thanked the girls before dragging Stiles away to the middle of the square. They watched as a group started dancing, spinning around the free space, pulling people in to the dance. When a man approached her with an extended hand, she smiled, looking to Stiles before taking the hand and joining the energetic dance. She picked up the moves with ease, jumping and gliding with the other townsfolk. It wasn't long before she was spinning out of the large group, back into Stiles' arms.
Stiles couldn't help himself from staring, breathless as he watched her twirling. The way her hair flowed even with the braid, her dress twirling with her as she danced. Her body worked in a beautiful motion. Every little detail left Stiles mesmerised. He barely saw her wave her hand in his face before he was dragged into the circle.
Once he realised what was happening, he focused on his feet, not wanting to tread on her toes as he tried to keep up with the fast paced steps. Pressed close to her he found it difficult to keep up, but every accidental step on her toes was brushed of with ease by her, her adrenaline too high to care about a little annoyance.
"You really are uncoordinated, for a criminal mastermind." Lydia rested her head on his right shoulder as the music slowed, an arm draping over his left shoulder with the other sliding around his waist. "Thank you. For bringing me here, you didn't have to do this for me."
Stiles' heart swelled at the comment, lips pressing softly to the top of her head because who was he kidding? This girl, this annoying primaddona princess was beautiful, smart and he was head over heels for her.
"You're welcome. Plus, I do, for the crown." When he eventually looked up, he saw Scott waving them over, the sky behind him highlighted with dark blues and purples. "Okay, it's time to go. We want a good view for the lights."
